


Young Blood

by Myrrh (Claudina)



Category: Food Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, backstory spoiler, more tags will be added as future chapters are released
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-27 04:19:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16695310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Claudina/pseuds/Myrrh
Summary: Steak believed that everything Red Wine did was only to piss him off. After all, what other incentives could there be?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after the incident mentioned in Red Wine's and Steak's backstories where Red Wine's Master Attendant was knocked unconscious and held hostage at a banquet. I highly suggest you to read their backstories before proceeding with this story.

Steak woke up to the sound of rain.

Even under the blanket, Steak could feel the cold morning air. The chill made him reluctant to wake up, and thus he buried himself deeper into his bed. However, as he did so, a sharp pain shot up from his shoulder and made him grit his teeth. Gone were all traces of slumber.

He suddenly remembered everything that had happened the day before.

Steak glanced at his injured shoulder. Dried blood speckled the outer layer of the bandages, having seeped out of his wounds through the night. There was a dull thrum of ache inside his bones. Suddenly, Steak felt so exhausted.

It was such a close call. One wrong move and they would have lost his Master Attendant’s fiancée. To have escaped with just him being injured was a stroke of luck. It was inconvenient, but he would never hesitate to do it again if he had to.

He wondered if the others were doing somewhat fine. Even if no one else was as badly injured as he was physically, he knew that they must have been mentally rattled by the events that transpired. Above all, he hoped that the lady was mostly all right. She had been drugged and held hostage, after all. Such traumatic event would upset even the spunkiest noblewoman.

Steak glanced at the clock on the nightstand. Seven in the morning. He figured that he could catch a little bit more sleep before he should go out and find the others. He shifted slowly in his bed, taking extra care to avoid putting too much pressure on his injured shoulder. He was about to close his eyes, comfortable and snug under the duvet, when the door opened. He immediately jerked awake.

“You’re alive.”

Annoying as it was, Steak could recognise that voice from miles away. What a wonderful way to start the day, right? The exhaustion prevented him from resorting to violence, though, and he merely replied, “Well, yeah, sorry to disappoint you.”

Instead of a snarky reply, Steak was met with silence, and this made him uncomfortable. It was unlike Red Wine to let sarcasm slide, especially when it was coming from Steak. He was suddenly reminded of his thoughts earlier, about how the others might be shaken by yesterday’s event. Guilt and regret immediately started setting in.

After a while, Red Wine managed to talk back, and even though his words were (thankfully) still as snide as usual, his voice was quiet and lacking its usual cockiness. “Good that you’re still able to try goading me into a fight even after getting beaten into a pulp. Your Master Attendant would be most pleased to know that his annoying Food Soul isn’t ready to give up the ghost yet.”

“I wasn’t beaten into a pulp, you idiot.” The words flew out of Steak’s mouth before he could even try to stop himself. Being mean and sarcastic to each other was the only way they could communicate. It was just like both of their Master Attendants who couldn’t seem to stop bickering even when they both loved each other. He mentally kicked himself for conjuring such horrific thought. In his and Red Wine’s case, it wasn’t as if they actually loved each other, of course. No such thing. Tolerance and affection were not the same thing. For them, it was merely the former.

“Obviously, you don’t remember that you passed out and had to be carried bridal-style into this room. By yours truly, no less.” A faint smirk bloomed on Red Wine’s lips and Steak’s eyes widened. Him? Passing out? Being carried bridal-style? _By Red Wine?_ Just let the earth swallow him whole already. This time, it was Steak who was at a loss of words. He could feel the blood rushing to his head and he was sure his face was as red as his hair was.

Red Wine, who obviously had intended to coax such reaction from Steak, chuckled triumphantly and waved his hand. “Don’t feel embarrassed. It’s just normal to help someone in distress.” He then added, “Anyway, have fun doing nothing. Your Master Attendant told me to inform you that you should be resting in bed today. The healer will be here to change your bandages and bring your breakfast soon.”

Steak, who was still actively hoping for the ground to open up and swallow him, gritted his teeth together. He lamely retorted, “Shut up! Just you wait…I’ll be back on my feet to pummel you down again soon!”

“Ooh, scary,” Red Wine said with a laugh. “I’ll enjoy my peace and quiet for now.”

The vampiric Food Soul then exited the door and left Steak ruminating in the quietness of his absence. Steak could feel a really bad headache coming and sighed loudly. Just great. He couldn’t believe the others let Red Wine, of all people, help and carry him when he passed out. Just thinking about how the annoying Food Soul would never let him live it down made him even more exhausted than he already was. He also couldn’t understand why the others couldn’t see that Red Wine only did it to piss him off in the end.

After all, what other incentives could there be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't usually post multi-chapter stories but after toying with the idea, I find that such format should suit this story better. I already have a rough idea about the whole story but if inspiration strikes I may add more chapters. I guess we'll see...


	2. Chapter 2

**_The day before_ **

“You can’t leave me! I love you so much! Please don’t go, please…”

Despite the crowd around him, Steak’s Master Attendant unabashedly pleaded with his fiancée, who was lying unmoving in his arms. On normal days, he and the lady would bicker for hours on end, never quite getting around to communicating like normal, loving couples did, but seeing his fiancée drugged and held hostage by an aberrant Food Soul seemed to have made the knight snap. He didn’t even care who was watching; all that he wanted was for his wife-to-be to wake up.

Red Wine knew that his Master Attendant, the said fiancée, was only feigning distress. He could even see her struggling to keep her composure, obviously tickled and delighted by the heart-wrenching display her fiancé was making. Clearly enjoying it too much, she remained unmoving until one particularly dramatic confession _(“I can’t live without you, my love, my soul, my whole heart…”)_ made her burst out laughing, breaking her charade.

“If you love me so much, you should have said it before! Did you have to wait until I was on the verge of dying to do so?!” She was pretending to be annoyed, but the grin on her face clearly said otherwise. To say that her fiancé was shocked was an understatement. Flabbergasted, he stammered pathetically, his face burning with embarrassment when he realised that he had been had.

“Y-y-you! You h-have gone too far this time!!”

As always with the two, it quickly devolved into a full-time bickering session. The knights around them could only watch, half-amused and half-tired of their antics. Red Wine glanced at Steak, wondering what kind of reaction the other Food Soul made at the drama between their Master Attendants.

It was when Red Wine saw Steak kneeling on the ground that he knew something was not right.

Steak was quiet as he clutched on his shoulder, which was bleeding profusely. The amount of blood covering his body was sickening, and the smell of Steak’s blood—the warmest blood Red Wine had ever known—assailed Red Wine’s nose at the sight. It wasn’t as if Red Wine wasn’t smelling it before; he just didn’t realise how bad the haemorrhage was.

“Steak?” The strength Food Soul immediately knelt beside Steak, trying to get him to respond. Steak glanced at him in a daze, and before he could speak, he toppled over to the side, fingers going limp around his injuries.

“Steak!” Red Wine’s shout caught everyone else’s attention, and they instantly panicked when they saw Steak on the ground, his own blood staining the earth beneath his body. They knew that this time, it was not mere drama or charade.

Red Wine looked around and yelled, “Do we have a healer here?!” When he received no response, he gathered Steak’s body in his arms and made a dash towards the carriage. Both of their Master Attendants scrambled to their feet and followed Red Wine immediately.

Warm. Steak was always so warm. Everything about him radiated heat, from the flames that usually danced around him to the blood that coursed his veins. Red Wine could feel the hot dampness soaking through his shirt, and even though he was rather cross that his clothes were ruined, his priority was to get help for Steak. He’d be damned if he let the Food Soul who saved his Master Attendant die.

Once they approached the mansion, Steak’s Master Attendant jumped out of the carriage even before it halted to a full stop, waving and barking orders at some servants to summon their resident physician. Red Wine followed suit once the carriage stopped in front of the entrance. The healers waved him over towards Steak’s room, and he immediately power-walked there, not encumbered by Steak’s weight the slightest bit (even if he was, he was too high-strung to realise it anyway).

The healers gestured for Red Wine to place Steak on a makeshift bed so that they could treat him, and Red Wine deposited the dead weight on the mattress as gently as possible. Once Steak was off his hands, his vision was immediately field with crimson—his arms and torso had been soaked by blood, so much blood. Red Wine lurched.

He quickly excused himself out of the room and ran towards the garden where he usually hid under the shade of a tree. The metallic scent of blood wafting up from his soiled clothes made his stomach twist and he desperately ordered his body to breathe calmly to ease the torment.

He threw up anyway, a result of a bad combination of nervousness, nausea and bloodthirst wrecking up his system.

He never hated blood as much as he did that day.

* * *

**_Present day_ **

Red Wine closed the door behind him, still smiling to himself. He might tell people that Steak was always driving him to violence, but truthfully, he quite enjoyed picking a fight with him as well. He chuckled silently, remembering how wordless and embarrassed Steak was when he told the buffoon that he was the one who carried his unconscious self to the room. Part of him was also relieved that Steak seemed to be recovering well. It helped to erase the bad memory of Steak’s blood on his clothes somehow.

He made his way down the corridor towards his Master Attendant’s room. The lady had been mostly unharmed, but her fiancé had also insisted that she took a rest for the day. Knowing how feisty his Master Attendant was, Red Wine thought that he would at least entertain her while she was confined to the bed.

The healers were just about to exit the room when Red Wine arrived. His Master Attendant’s eyes immediately lit up upon seeing him.

“Red Wine! Am I glad to see you!” To the healers’ dismay, she then attempted to jump off the bed to give her Food Soul a hug. The head physician’s solemn glare pinned her in place, though, and she huffed before settling for just sitting on the bed, arms stretched invitingly at Red Wine. The Food Soul hugged her warmly, just like how a big brother would do to his own sister.

Once the healers left for good, she immediately began her venting, “Can you believe that they are treating me as if I’m an invalid?” Rolling her eyes, she continued on her tirade, “I’m not made of glass, you know? They’re making a big deal out of nothing here!”

Red Wine nodded empathetically, already knowing that his Master Attendant wouldn’t like this whole bedrest thing. She sighed deeply and slumped on the pile of pillows stacked against her headboard.

“It’s Steak they should be worried about,” she muttered quietly. “How do you think he’s doing?”

“He seemed to be fine. He already tried being sarcastic with me so that’s a good sign, I guess.”

A mischievous smile appeared on Red Wine’s Master Attendant. “Ah, so you already visited him before you even came here to visit me!” She wiggled her eyebrow for added emphasis, flustering Red Wine.

“Your fiancé asked me to carry a message for Steak,” Red Wine replied, trying to keep his voice as level as possible. “In any case, he doesn’t seem to be in grave danger, so you can rest easy knowing that.”

His Master Attendant laughed at the unintended pun. “Rest easy…as if that’d make me like staying in bed any better. I just want to stroll in the garden, you know? Well, it’s raining, but we can still go to the patio and drink some tea or do something.”

Red Wine gave her a small smile. “Both you and Steak are difficult patients. I pity the healers for having to deal with not one, but two unwilling casualties.”

“Was he complaining too? What did he say?”

“He didn’t say anything much, but do you really think a brute like him would willingly enjoy a sick day?” Red Wine thought of Steak being buried under the blanket when he entered the room and added, “Seemed to be cosy in bed, though. Maybe he’s not going to complain as much, after all.”

The teasing smile returned to his Master Attendant’s face. “You two are adorable. I’m glad to see you both getting along better nowadays.”

Red Wine cut her off immediately, “I’m afraid I will disappoint you. I’m just grateful that he saved you, that’s all. Once he recovers, I’m sure he’ll return to being insufferable.”

“Mm-hmm. I’d prefer it if you both would start getting along better soon, though. After all, my idiot of a fiancé wants you both to be his best men at the wedding, you know.”

Red Wine visibly paled. “Wait, what?” he stammered, unsure of how to digest this new piece of information.

“Yeah, he told me last night that he wouldn’t want to delay the wedding any further, what with the drama he had caused yesterday. The ceremony is next month,” his Master Attendant said casually, rather oblivious to Red Wine’s mortification.

Quickly composing himself, Red Wine then asked, “And what do I have to do?”

“Basically, don’t ruin the wedding by fighting with Steak. Oh, also, arrange for matching suits and trinkets to wear. I trust your sartorial judgment. Can’t say the same about Steak’s,” she said, smiling widely at her bewildered Food Soul. “Don’t worry, you’ll do fine.”

Red Wine sat still in his seat, still stunned by the information. So basically, his Master Attendant wanted him to go shopping for clothes with Steak, of all people, and then try not to go at each other during the ceremony. The latter, he could manage; the former, he wasn’t so sure.

Still and all, this was for a wedding. Surely, the practical clothing Steak so staunchly preferred on normal days would have no value in an event which prioritised aesthetic. Red Wine started having ideas of driving Steak to wear fancy suits and gilded jewelleries, and the mental image tickled him.

He thought that Steak better rest and recover well, for he wouldn’t even know what was about to hit him once he was back on his feet. So much for the rash idiot wanting to pummel him down. This style war would surely be a better battle to fight, and Red Wine was sure that he would win this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I've reviewed this once (and will probably do it again within the next few days), but let me know if you spot any mistakes or typos. Thank you again for reading :) Kudos and comments are appreciated!


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